Individual Variation as an Approach to Economic Organization: Projectile Points at Grasshopper Pueblo, Arizona

Abstract

The ability to trace the products of individuals in the archaeological record can enhance our knowledge of economic and social structures. Ethnological and experimental information combined with archaeological data is necessary to study individual stylistic variation. Projectile point sets from burials at Grasshopper Pueblo in Arizona were examined using dimensional attributes and also attributes describing patterns of flake-scar orientation. Point sets were internally consistent and readily separable using both kinds of attributes. The attributes were tested using point sets replicated by five modern knappers. Similar results support the conclusion that such attributes distinguish individuals. Analysis of points from burials, rooms, and other contexts indicates that lithic crafts at Grasshopper were not the realm of specialized craftsmen or centrally controlled. This kind of analytical approach can be applied to many crafts throughout the world to help resolve current questions about the level of social and economic organization attained by prehistoric societies.

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